A late foul goes against the Blazers' Rudy Fernandez, who doesn't hold back his frustration

The Associated PressRookie Rudy Fernandez showed his frustration over a late-fourth quarter foul.

OAKLAND. Calif. -- The record will show that the Trail Blazers lost 111-106 to Golden State on Tuesday night, but Rudy Fernandez would like to tell a different story.

"Look!" Fernandez said, his eyes afire as he pulled down his black sweater to expose his chest. "Look, man, look."

On his chest was a bright red scrape, still inflamed. It came, Fernandez said, from the hand of Golden State's Anthony Morrow, who grabbed Fernandez when he realized an inbound pass was too high and that the Blazers guard was in position to catch the pass and go in for a game-tying layup.

At the time, the Blazers trailed 108-106 with 5.6 seconds left, but were in the midst of one of their most improbable comebacks in years.

The play, Fernandez's version of which was confirmed by television replays, drew a whistle from referee Mark Ayotte.

Fernandez argued and was whistled for a technical foul. By the time the smoke cleared from the controversial play, the Warriors had made three free throws, the score was 111-106 and the Blazers had suffered their seventh consecutive loss at Oracle Arena, none more stinging or hard to swallow.

In the locker room, most of the Blazers bit their tongues, no doubt on the advice of coach Nate McMillan, who spent more time harping about the Blazers' 21 turnovers and nine missed free throws than a series of plays the Blazers' players felt went inexplicably for the Warriors.

That's not to say McMillan wasn't upset. He stayed on the court briefly to plead his case with lead official Bob Delaney, and he emerged from the Blazers' locker room with blood-shot eyes and a steely demeanor.

"I won't even waste my breath on that," McMillan said about the final call. "Bottom line is we have to play."

Added Brandon Roy, who started the comeback with a steal and layup off an inbound play with 11.2 seconds left: "Coach said we've done nothing to get calls. We haven't done anything in this league to expect calls, so we have to expect them to go against us. It's a tough fate."

The loss negated a dominant performance by rookie Greg Oden, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes. But Oden had five turnovers, including one on three consecutive possessions when the Blazers trailed 98-94. Twice Oden went up for shots in traffic, only to have the ball stripped. Another time, he was called for staying in the lane for three seconds.

"I put the loss on me," Oden said. "I got blocked there two times in a row. We just gotta take better care of the ball. We gave them 21 extra possessions."

It was a topsy-turvy night for the Blazers, perhaps best demonstrated in the first quarter. Golden State (5-6) jumped to a 9-0 lead, but the Blazers countered and took a 22-15 lead.

But the night was one of fits and starts for the Blazers, whose starters -- outside of Roy (22 points, nine assists) -- never got in rhythm. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with four points and four rebounds and fouled out in just more than 19 minutes. He made 2 of 7 shots from the field.

But the Blazers' bench -- an emerging strength for the team -- came to the rescue, scoring a season-high 60 points. Travis Outlaw and Fernandez each scored 13, and point guard Sergio Rodriguez -- who has outplayed starter Steve Blake of late -- had 12 points, two assists, two steals and three turnovers.

The Warriors were led by Morrow, the undrafted rookie who exploded onto the scene last week when he had 37 points and 11 rebounds in his first start. Morrow followed up that performance with 25 points against the Blazers on 8 of 12 shooting, including four three-pointers.

"He's the real deal and we haven't even learned how to play with him yet," Golden State coach Don Nelson said.

The Blazers (6-5) missed a chance to get off to their best start since 1999, and they can largely blame turnovers. They entered the game as the best in the NBA at taking care of the ball, averaging 11, but they had 10 by halftime.

"We threw the ball all over the place," McMillan said. "Between our free throws and turnovers, it was a bit too much to overcome."

Still, the Blazers had a chance late, thanks to some heady defense.

Trailing 108-103 with 14.1 seconds left, the Blazers appeared done after an inbound lob pass to Outlaw sailed over his head as he was nudged out of the way.

But on the ensuing inbound play by Golden State, Roy stole the pass and layed it in with 11.5 seconds left to cut the deficit to 108-105. Golden State then tried to inbound to Morrow, but Outlaw tipped the pass, which bounced off Morrow's shoulder and out of bounds with 11.2 seconds left.

The Blazers called a timeout and the play was designed for Roy, who was given last-second instructions by McMillan: "If you feel good about it, raise up," meaning if Roy felt good about taking a tying three-pointer, don't hesitate.

Roy, however, elected to drive, and he passed to Channing Frye, who couldn't handle the ball. In a scrum in the lane, Outlaw grabbed the ball and was fouled trying to attempt a shot with 5.6 seconds left. Outlaw made the first free throw, and tried to intentionally miss the second. However, he made it, but the shot was negated, as Delaney called Outlaw for stepping over the line before the ball reached the basket.

That set up the inbound play to Morrow, whose desperate grab of Fernandez left its mark long after the buzzer.